Sanitizing device

ABSTRACT

The shoe sole sanitizer provides a UV radiation emitting system that kills microbial pathogens deposited on shoe sole surfaces. The system includes a housing containing at least one UV radiation source. Bottom and side portions of the housing are opaque to provide a UV shield while directing the UV upward towards a top housing portion. The top housing portion has a plurality of holes forming an approximate shape of two shoe sole bottoms. The holes allow the UV radiation to escape the housing and target sole surfaces disposed on and over the exterior of the housing top. Each shoe sole approximation area has a pivotal tang that extends therefrom. Shutters attached internally to the tangs extend or limit UV exposure from the top surface depending on the size of the sole disposed on the top. The system is powered by standard AC electrical power or battery sources.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to sanitizing devices ordisinfectant systems, and particularly to a shoe sole sanitizerutilizing ultraviolet radiation and/or advanced oxidation to kill orinactivate microbial pathogens, viruses, bacteria, molds, spores and thelike deposited on shoe sole surfaces, hands, feet and other anatomicalsurfaces.

2. Description of the Related Art

Biocontamination and cross-contamination presents a constantlyincreasing threat to human and pet health. Bacteria and othermicroorganisms, which cause infectious diseases, are often spread bypersons walking into contaminated areas and then carrying thecontaminants to other areas. For example, a person or animal may walkthrough a contaminated area and his shoes, hooves, paws, socks may pickup bacteria or other microorganisms, which may cause illness, and thenthe person may grab his shoes by the soles for removal from his feet.The contaminants are then spread from the soles of the shoes to theperson's hands or objects that are touched. The health care industry isespecially vulnerable to contaminants due to the high likelihood ofencountering harmful bacteria and other microorganisms that willcross-contaminate persons and objects. Biocontaminants can spread fromthe soles of contaminated shoes to carpets and floors, upon which smallchildren and infants crawl. Contaminants can also spread from restrooms, farms, buildings and/or mass transportation centers.

Thus, sanitizing devices addressing the aforementioned problems aredesired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The sanitizing device, and in particular a shoe sole sanitizer, providesa UVC and/or advanced oxidation system that kills or inactivatesmicrobial pathogens deposited on the effected surfaces and in particularthe shoe sole surfaces, including the side surfaces of a foot or shoe.The system includes a housing containing at least one UV radiationsource and/or advanced oxidation source. Bottom and side portions of thehousing are opaque to provide a UV shield and may contain emittersdirecting the UV upward towards top housing portion. The top housingportion has a plurality of holes or slots or other shaped apertures toemit the germicidal energy; preferably, the apertures form anapproximate shape of two shoe sole bottoms. The holes allow the UVradiation to escape the housing and target shoe sole surfaces disposedon and over the exterior of the housing top. In order to increase theeffect of the germicidal energy the top housing portion has protrusionsor ridges designed throughout the aperture design to raise the shoe orfoot above the top housing surface. Additionally, the top housingportion can also be formed as a recessed surface so as to permit thegermicidal energy to impact additional side surfaces of the shoe or footplaced thereon in addition to the sole.

The system can be powered by standard AC electrical power or batterysources. Each shoe sole approximation area of the top has a pivotal tangthat extends therefrom. A shutter system is attached internally to thetangs thereby extending or limiting UV exposure from the top surfacedepending on the size of the sole disposed on the top. The shuttersystem can be at the front of the sole or be shaped to approximate theentire sole bottom or any portion thereof. The shutter system may be asingle shield or be segmented shields that encompass any desired designor configuration; and may be deployed singly or jointly.

These and other features of the present invention will become readilyapparent upon further review of the following specification anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the shoe sole sanitizer according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded, perspective view of the shoe sole sanitizeraccording to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded, perspective view of the shoe sole sanitizerincorporating an advanced oxidation system therein.

FIG. 4 is a view of the shoe sole sanitizer incorporating an advancedoxidation system therein.

FIG. 4A is a view of the shoe sole sanitizer incorporating an advancedoxidation system therein along lines A-A of FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the shoe sole sanitizer incorporating anadvanced oxidation system therein showing the distribution manifold.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistentlythroughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the sanitizing device is shown as a shoesole sanitizer 100 wherein a UV radiation emitting device that killsmicrobial pathogens deposited on shoe sole surfaces. The shoe solesanitizer is designed to reduce pathogens on or around the sole oroutside of a sole. The shoe sole sanitizer can also be utilized tosterilize soles of feet, socks, and animal paws.

In an exemplary system, the shoe sole sanitizer 100 includes a housing111 containing at least one UV radiation source 134. The source may beof any conventional emitter of germicidal energy having a wavelength forkilling or inactivating microorganisms within the range of 180 nm-325nm. Bottom and side portions of the housing are usually opaque toprovide a UV shield while directing the UV upward towards top housingportion. The top housing portion includes a platform 94 that has aplurality of holes 104 a and 104 b that may form an approximate shape oftwo shoe sole bottoms, referred to herein as shoe sole approximationareas. The platform 94 is preferably metal. The housing can be made fromany suitable material, such as metal and plastic, for example. Thematerial can vary in type, thickness, and grade depending on theenvironment in which the device is being used, e.g., indoor or outdooruse, use in a food processing plant, an explosive environment, or in awet area. Such materials can be adapted to make the device waterresistant. The housing can be adapted to include either a manual or anautomated cleaning system to maintain the device operating optimally.For example, the housing can include sensors to monitor the aging of thelamps and output of the device, as well as to increase or decrease powerfor optimal results.

The housing can also include various types of materials anddisinfectants, such as hydrogen peroxide, to disinfect the shoe solesanitizer and keep foreign matter from depositing inside the unit. Thehousing can be adapted to include brushes or mechanical devices to cleanthe footwear prior to use of the device. The housing can be used inconjunction with UV and/or ozone to produce an advanced oxidation resultthereby increasing the germicidal process. FIGS. 3, 4, 4A, and 5disclose an embodiment that incorporates an oxidation system into thehousing.

The holes 104 a and 104 b allow UV radiation and/or advanced oxidationto escape the housing and target shoe sole surfaces disposed on and overthe exterior of the housing top. The holes 104 a and 104 b also allowthe shoe sole sanitizer 100 to adjust to any shoe size to reduce oreliminate unwanted UVC exposure onto surrounding persons or animals,surfaces, skin, or eyes. The holes 104 a are disposed closer to alateral edge of the platform 94 than the holes 104 b. The holes 104 aare of a smaller diameter than the holes 104 b and are designed to letUV light through while acting as a physical barrier to prevent heelshaving small cross-sectional area (e.g., high heels) from sinking intothe interior of the housing. The unintentional exposure of people to UVClight can also be controlled and prevented by the shoe print design onthe top of the shoe sole sanitizer 100. For example, the UVC light maybe transmitted to the soles of the user through the holes 104 a and 104b and not from a remainder of the housing. A boot or sock mold can beused to delineate the area for the shoe so as to reduce or eliminate anyunwanted UVC exposure. Portions of the housing 111 may be lightreflective to aid in directing the UV source radiation through the holes104 a and 104 b. The holes 104 a and 104 b can be located anywhere inthe unit, such as the toe or heel region of the shoes or on the sideareas of the shoes, thereby allowing the shoe sole sanitizer 100 to beused by a variety of people without having to worry about the variationsin the shoe sizes and styles.

The holes 104 a and 104 b, as well as the shoe print design will enablethe shoe sole sanitizer 100 to overcome many of the safety concernsraised by federal organizations such as the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Thedevice 100 can be adapted to include safety switches, and sensors, suchas pressure, proximity, and motion sensors, for example, to improve thesafety and operation of the system. For example, a switch for activatingthe device 100 may be triggered only when weight exerted on the platformby a user exceeds a certain threshold value, e.g., 50 pounds. Theswitches and sensors can be placed on the top, the bottom, the sides, orbelow the top plate, so as to be used as a safety system to protectagainst misuse by children, pets, or infants. Additionally, the devicecan be adapted to include a timer to control exposure and operation ofthe device.

Extending vertically from a front sole portion of each shoe soleapproximation area of platform 94, along a front centerline portion is apivotal spring biased thin planar tang 102. Shutters 119 (shown in FIG.2) attached internally to the tangs 102 extend or limit UV exposure fromthe platform 94 depending on whether the size and/or weight of the soleis large enough to depress the tang and thereby open the shutteradmitting UV light close to the tangs 102 or small enough not to depressthe tang thereby keeping the shutter in an elevated, closed positionthat forms a light barrier. The shutter 119 may be a mechanical orelectronic shutter, for example, or other suitable type of shuttercapable of reducing or eliminating the reflected light or direct UVClight from the UVC source in the shoe sole sanitizer 100. Each shutter119 is bifurcated and includes a pivotable flap extension 121. Thespring biasing is achieved by a spring hinge 187 disposed through pivotholes 156 of the shutters 119 and pivot slots 157 of vertical barrierwalls 136. Each shoe sole approximation area of the top has a pivotaltang that extends therefrom. The shutter system can be at the front ofthe sole or can be shaped to approximate the entire sole or any portionthereof. The shutter system may be a single shield or be segmentedshields that encompass any desired design or configuration; and may bedeployed singly or jointly. Additionally, with or without the shuttersystem, a template or shield may overlie the platform 94 and shield asmuch of the radiation as necessary thereby protecting users with smallor odd shaped sole configurations.

Ridges 106 are disposed on the platform 94 along either side of thecenterlines of the shoe sole approximation areas. These ridges 106support the shoe soles so that a substantial portion of the shoe solesis elevated over the holes 104 a, 104 b thereby permitting a greatercontact area of the UV radiation with the shoe soles and increase thearea of a sole being exposed. Further, the ridges 106 can allow the shoesole to be elevated and expose the shadowed areas of the shoe sole tothe UVC light. The ridges 106 may also have through-bores allowing theUV radiation light to escape and contact portions of the shoe solesupported by ridges 106. Each ridge 106 can have a pair ofthrough-bores, one through-bore on the right side of the ridge andanother through-bore on the left side of the ridge.

Additionally, the top housing portion or platform 94 can be disposed asa recessed surface so that the shoe or foot is below the upper rim ofthe housing thereby permitting the germicidal energy to impact more ofthe side surfaces of the shoe or foot placed thereon in addition to thesole. Using the ridges with a platform 94 (FIGS. 1 and 2) or in arecessed configuration allows the use of UVC reflective materialsthereby increasing the exposure of UVC light onto otherwise shadowedareas of the sole or foot.

The system can be adapted to be operated automatically with the use ofon/off timers or manually. The system can be powered by standard ACelectrical power, battery sources, or solar power. A manually operatedpower switch 130 is disposed on the side of housing base 111 closest toa heel portion of the shoe sole approximation areas. Notwithstanding themanually operated power switch 130, a weight sensitive, timed exposureswitch may also be employed for hands-free operation of the device 100.The UV sources 134 are preferably high cycling, quick start UV-C lamps,preferably of the elongated variety, and extending inside the housingbeneath the shoe sole approximation area of holes 104 a, 104 b on theplatform 94. For example, the UV sources can include light pipe sources,fiber optic sources, solid-state UVC sources, active and passive sensorsarranged in a variety of configurations so as to control the UV lightfrom escaping and instead focus, direct, or control the light onto atarget. The cycling times of the lamps can be modified to increase theeffectiveness of the device. Hot cathode, cold cathode, light emittingdiodes, and induction UV lamps, as well as fiber optic and light pipescan be adapted for use in the housing to distribute the UVC light to theshoe sole. The UVC lamps preferably emit a substantial portion of photonenergy at wavelength(s) somewhere between approximately 180 toapproximately 325 nm. Ozone and ultrasonic energy disinfectants can beused in place of or in addition to the UVC lamps.

Elongate, rectangular circuit board 132 is disposed inside the housing111 and enclosed by longitudinally disposed vertical barrier walls 136.Horizontal ribs 138 extend laterally perpendicular to the verticalbarrier walls 136 and attach to the vertical barrier walls 136 viacomplementary slots disposed in the vertical barrier walls 136 and thehorizontal ribs 138. Tabs on the ends of the horizontal ribs andcomplementary slots on the housing 111 secure the horizontal ribs 138 tothe housing 111. Left side tabs extend toward the front of housing 111and right side tabs extend toward the rear of housing 111. A translucentdust shield 97 is disposed below the support platform 94 and issupported by longitudinally extending dust shield retaining rods 84which sit atop and perpendicular to the horizontal ribs 138. A flange 95extends around the periphery of the support platform 94 and supportsbezel 90.

The circuit board 132 shown in FIG. 2 can include an off-the-shelfKodiak Tech, P69174 lamp ballast circuit. The circuit board 132 isdesigned to, upon application of power via power switch 130 and NiCadbattery 199 produce a high voltage alternating current (AC) to the UV-Clamps which, in the embodiment shown, are the UV sources 134. Thecircuit board 132 is operably connected to an audible alert 166 to warna user when the UV-C sources 134 are powered up and emitting UV-Cradiation. An interlock switch 191 keeps the unit from powering on whenthe platform 94 is removed for servicing.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to theembodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodimentswithin the scope of the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A device for sanitizing objects, comprising: a housing; aplatform disposed atop the housing, the platform having longitudinalsides and lateral edges; a plurality of holes disposed in the platformand defining an elongated area, the area being elongated and having alongitudinal axis, the plurality of holes including a predeterminednumber of holes proximate one end of the area and adjacent one of thelateral edges of the platform, wherein the predetermined number of holeshave a substantially smaller diameter than remaining holes in theplatform, wherein the area further includes a plurality oflongitudinally and laterally spaced apart ridges disposed on either sideof a centerline of the area, the ridges being elevated above theplatform holes and extend substantially the entire length of the area;and at least one ultraviolet (UV) light source disposed inside thehousing and directing ultraviolet light waves through the holes of theplatform.
 2. The device for sanitizing objects according to claim 1,further comprising an oxidation unit coupled to the housing and incommunication with the inside of the housing.
 3. The device forsanitizing objects according to claim 1, further comprisingthrough-bores disposed in the ridges, the through-bores allowing UVlight to pass through the ridges.
 4. The device for sanitizing objectsaccording to claim 1, further comprising: means for shielding portionsof the holes of the platform.
 5. The device for sanitizing objectsaccording to claim 4, wherein the means for shielding includes: apivotal spring biased thin planar tang vertically extending from a frontsole portion of each shoe sole approximation area of the platform alonga front portion of the centerline; a shutter attached internally to thetang, the shutter being adjustable to allow UV light to escape thehousing proximate the tang when the tang is depressed and to block UVlight from escaping the housing proximate the tang when the tang isextended.
 6. The device for sanitizing objects according to claim 4,further comprising a pivotal flap extension that bifurcates eachshutter.
 7. The device for sanitizing objects according to claim 1,wherein the UV light source is a UVC lamp.
 8. The device for sanitizingobjects according to claim 6, further comprising a ballast circuitdisposed in the housing, the ballast circuit powering the UVC lamp. 9.The device for sanitizing objects according to claim 7, furthercomprising an audible alert disposed in the housing, the audible alertwarning a user when the UVC lamp is powered up.
 10. The device forsanitizing objects according to claim 7, further comprising atranslucent dust shield attached to the housing and disposed between thehousing interior and an underside portion of the platform.
 11. Thedevice for sanitizing objects according to claim 8, further comprising:a battery disposed in the housing; and a power switch connected to thebattery, the power switch selectively applying power from the battery tothe ballast circuit.
 12. The device for sanitizing objects according toclaim 1, wherein the housing is substantially opaque.
 13. The device forsanitizing objects according to claim 1, wherein portions of the housingare substantially light reflective to aid in directing the UV sourceradiation through the holes.
 14. The device for sanitizing objectsaccording to claim 1, wherein the area is configured to approximate theshape of two shoe bottoms.
 15. The device for sanitizing objectsaccording to claim 14, further comprising: means for shielding portionsof the holes on each of the shoe bottoms.
 16. A device for sanitizingobjects, comprising: a housing; a platform disposed atop the housing,the platform having longitudinal sides and lateral edges; a plurality ofholes disposed in the platform and defining an elongated area, the areabeing elongated and having a longitudinal axis, the plurality of holesincluding a predetermined number of holes proximate one end of the areaand adjacent one of the lateral edges of the platform, wherein thepredetermined number of holes have a substantially smaller diameter thanremaining holes in the platform; wherein the area further includes aplurality of longitudinally and laterally spaced apart ridges disposedon either side of a centerline of the area and the ridges are elevatedabove the platform holes means for shielding portions of the holes ofthe platform, wherein the means for shielding includes: a pivotal springbiased tang vertically extending from the platform and being coincidentwith the longitudinal axis of the area; a shutter attached internally tothe tang, the shutter being adjustable to allow UV light to escape thehousing proximate the tang when the tang is depressed and to block UVlight from escaping the housing proximate the tang when the tang isextended; and at least one ultraviolet (UV) light source disposed insidethe housing and directing ultraviolet light waves through the holes ofthe platform.